Farmers reap forage for their herds in the desert area in Ordos. The plantation helps to prevent soil erosion and increases locals' income.[Photo by Bai Chaoyi/chinadaily.com.cn]

The trunks of these shrubs are also processed into high-quality cardboard and corrugated paperboard, creating more jobs for locals.

The company poured more than 400 million yuan into building a plant in Fengshuiliang Park in 2011 to produce eco-friendly, high-density chipboard using salix cheilophila as a raw material. Furnished with state-of-the-art machines imported from Germany, the production facility generated more than 33 million yuan in sales revenue in 2015.

Dongda will move further up the value chain, as a furniture plant is already in the pipeline for this year. It will cost 380 million yuan to establish, according to the company.

In addition, the trees’ tender thin stems combined with their leaves and pastures can be used as rabbit feed, which has spurred the growth of the breeding sector.